Accurate surveying for use in survey and Geographic Information System (GIS) applications requires relatively high accuracy GPS or other satellite positioning systems. To be assured of the accuracy required for these applications, it is known to use differential correction (DGPS) and RTK processes to increase the accuracy of a calculated position. Such systems require a GPS antenna and associated equipment, capable of receiving DGPS or RTK signals, typically housed in a back-pack worn by an operator due to the weight and/or size of the antenna and associated equipment.
Furthermore, known DGPS or RTK systems provide an accurate position only and do not allow or provide for the incorporation of additional data related to the calculated position. For example, known systems cannot readily incorporate chemical, physical, biological, geographical, geological, environmental, etc., data (such as soil colour, soil type, vegetation type, geographic features, management features, etc.) related to the calculated position.
Presently, such additional data is normally collected by hand, for example by observation or by reading a display on a sampling device, and recorded on paper or in a separate computer, for subsequent processing in an office after the field work has been completed. The calculated positions and any manually obtained additional data must be subsequently combined and then analysed. This can introduce the possibility of errors if calculated positions are not correctly mapped to the additional data. Moreover, analysis of data typically cannot begin until a person, such as a surveyor, has physically completed a field survey and returned to an office to provide the raw data, which can often introduce a delay of from a few days to several weeks or more.
This identifies a need for a survey device which addresses or at least ameliorates problems inherent in the prior art.
The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.